Oil Cooler cleaning?
 

What should I use to clean out my Oil Coolers before I get them powder coated?

Thanks, Tom

Tom,
Assuming your cleaning the inside out I would or even have flushed with gas repeatedly and then boiling hot water. This is what I've done and it works pretty well. It's amazing what comes out of those things even after numerous flushes. I did the gas flush out doors and then the hot water flush over my white kitchen sink. I also used purple power with the hot water.

I am actually replacing a couple of them as I didn't want to take any chances with my new engines. Just one of those things.

Soak em in brake cleaner. or if you can wait until i get some surface cleaner #3 in a few weeks.

The boiling them is a good idea. Because they heat up when engines are running the tubes inside expand and contract. When they contract they can clog up with debris and gunk. When cleaning them it's a good idea to get them to expand and release any trapped debris that could be in them. Thats why it's best to replace them if an engine has failed while using them. Any trapped metal particals could be put right back into the newly rebuilt engine. Been there done that!

X2, Many years ago after learning the hard way also, I ended up blowing out my oil lines and a big oh sludge/metal shaving terd came out. :lolhit:

+1 on the cleaning. Powdercoating and or chrome plating the coolers is only a good idea if the cooler is big enough to still handle the heat disipation after the process. Powdercoating and/or chrome causes the cooler to retain extra heat that normally disipates. Paint is the better alternative, becaue the paint coating allows more heat to disipate than the other coatings. If the cooler is big enough though, then the powder and/or chrome will look better and hold up longer.

Jeff I never thought about what you mentioned regarding the heat disipating however good point.



John

I read about it somewhere as well as a cooler manufacturer one time explained it to me. It just depends on the amount of HP and heat generated by your engine. If you use a good oversize aftermarket cooler with built in oil T Stat, then you can do just about anything you want. If you are using the stock stuff, then you have to think about what your overall result will be before you powdercoat or chrome.

I personally have a chromed oil coller in my Magnum, but it is a cooler that is good to 1000HP and I only have a 675HP engine. T Stat is also built into the oil cooler so It will run at optimum temp anyway.

On another note I never realized you had a Magnum. Nice boat. I had 28 Challenger which was a splash of the Magnum hull and lengthend a foot. I absolutely loved that boat. I would run with most boats 35' plus in rough water and even do circles around some. LOL... Sorry to get off the topic.
John

Point of note: If you chrome plate a cooler that was not put together with the right materials, you will break down the braze with the chrome plating baths (I'm not going into the chemistry). Chrome plating a standard cooler could cause a breakdown at the braze joints and a complete breakdown of your cooler in harsh conditions. If you want to chrome plate a cooler, you should purchase one that has been put together with the right materials. And yes, we of course sell them but we don't advertise it. It costs about another $50 to ready your cooler for chrome plating (it's the special handling, not the materials). I can't tell you the standard cooler plating won't work, but the chemistry is such that it could break down the braze joints.

The heat dissipation lost in chrome plating can exceed 40% according to our PE. So don't forget to multiply your current size by 1.6 to get your new length.

I can't condone cleaning coolers because I just think it's crazy to spend thousands redoing and engine and not want to make sure you're cooling them properly, taking a chance on sending sludge bugs down the oil chute and metal shavings. It is a requirement that if you replace a blown trans you must replace the cooler or you void your warranty. That says everything.

But cleaning is properly done with a reduction of phosphoric acid. And be damned careful of getting the stuff in your eyes. Then you don't have to boil it. But make sure you pressure test thoroughly before putting it back in the boat and run some serious pressurized water through it to give you your best chance. Cleaning sometimes releases small fissure leaks and it just gets worse from there. And remember you're going to likely let loose a bunch of gunk on the oil side of the cooler that won't let loose until you get it back into service. I'd add a short term in line filter for a bit.